The Seven Seals

6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of ^(A)the seven seals, and I heard ^(B)one of the four living creatures say ^(C)with a voice like thunder, ^(D)“Come!” ² And I looked, and behold, ^(E)a white horse! And ^(F)its rider had a bow, and ^(G)a crown was given to him, and he came out ^(H)conquering, and to conquer.

³ When he opened the second seal, I heard ^(I)the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴ And out came another horse, ^(J)bright red. Its rider was permitted ^(K)to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

⁵ When he opened the third seal, I heard the ^(L)third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, ^(M)a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ^(N)“A quart^[a] of wheat for a denarius,^[b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^(O)do not harm the oil and wine!”

⁷ When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of ^(P)the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ And I looked, and behold, ^(Q)a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill ^(R)with sword and with famine and with pestilence and ^(S)by wild beasts of the earth.

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under ^(T)the altar ^(U)the souls of those who had been slain ^(V)for the word of God and for ^(W)the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^(X)holy and true, ^(Y)how long ^(Z)before you will judge and ^(AA)avenge our blood on ^(AB)those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given ^(AC)a white robe and ^(AD)told to rest a little longer, ^(AE)until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers^{[c] (AF)}should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

¹² When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, ^(AG)there was a great earthquake, and ^(AH)the sun became black as ^(AI)sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³ and ^(AJ)the stars of the sky fell to the earth ^(AK)as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ^14 (AL)The sky vanished ^(AM)like a scroll that is being rolled up, and ^(AN)every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave^[d] and free, ^(AO)hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ^16 (AP)calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of ^(AQ)him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ for ^(AR)the great day of their wrath has come, and ^(AS)who can stand?”

The Seven Trumpets

⁶ Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed ^(A)hail and ^(B)fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a ^(C)third of the earth was burned up, and a third of ^(D)the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

⁸ The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like ^(E)a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea ^(F)became blood. ⁹ A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of ^(G)the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel blew his trumpet, and ^(H)a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on ^(I)the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood.^[a] A third of the waters ^(J)became wormwood, and many people died from the water, ^(K)because it had been made bitter.

¹² The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of ^(L)the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

¹³ Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, ^(M)“Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”

9 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and ^(N)I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given ^(O)the key to the shaft of ^(P)the bottomless pit.^{[b] 2} He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft ^(Q)rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and ^(R)the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. ³ Then from the smoke came ^(S)locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. ⁴ They were told ^(T)not to harm ^(U)the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have ^(V)the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were allowed to torment them ^(W)for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. ⁶ And in those days ^(X)people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

^7 (Y)In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: ^(Z)on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were ^(AA)like human faces, ⁸ their hair like women's hair, and ^(AB)their teeth like lions' teeth; ⁹ they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was ^(AC)like the noise of many chariots with ^(AD)horses rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people ^(AE)for five months is in their tails. ¹¹ They have ^(AF)as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is ^(AG)Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.^[c]

^12 (AH)The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

¹³ Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from ^(AI)the four horns of the golden altar before God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release ^(AJ)the four angels who are bound at ^(AK)the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released ^(AL)to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of ^(AM)mounted troops was ^(AN)twice ten thousand times ten thousand; ^(AO)I heard their number. ¹⁷ And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire^[d] and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were ^(AP)like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. ¹⁸ By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

²⁰ The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, ^(AQ)did not repent of ^(AR)the works of their hands nor give up worshiping ^(AS)demons ^(AT)and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, ²¹ nor did they repent of their murders or their ^(AU)sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.